n his effort to end the Apartheid regime in South Africa in the early 1990s, the late Nelson Mandela was admirably tough on his struggle to free his countrymen from the ruinous regime that turned them into slaves in their fatherland.
In the end, South African gained free in politics but economically, the people still depended on their tormentors, who did not leave the country after the Apartheid regime crumbled.
The South African economy remained the largest in Africa but the country has distinction as world’s most economically-skewed nation since 2009.
This lopsidedness is not new. It grasped the attention of critics as far back as 1998 when the then Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, stated before the parliament that South Africa was not a nation of a homogeneous people. He added that it was merely two nations rolled into one.
To Mbeki, the country could be seen as a superficial society of “small” affluent white men whose lifestyles rivalled the super-rich anywhere in the world. The other people in South Africa, according to Mbeki, are black citizens who seemingly have a permanent date with poverty. Mbeki’s statement, which came to be known as “Two-Nations Speech”, is now regarded as a candid refutation of racial-economic harmony around the world.
Besides, was Mbeki foretelling a racial confrontation by his speech? Did he have knowledge of impeding Marikana massacre of August 2012 when 34 striking miners were gunned down by police in broad daylight?
In analysing South Africa’s economic inequality, social critics agree from the outset that colonialism and Apartheid had much to do with it. But in the post-apartheid era, a small undercurrent of thought emerged suggesting that the country’s socio-economic woes were aggravated and perpetuated by “compromised negotiations” that were spearheaded by the liberation icon, Nelson Mandela.
After all, he was the beloved, the ultimate victim of apartheid struggle. Post-Mandela era, the ghost of the “compromised negotiation” hunts the country.
Indeed, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah had addressed the same question of what domain should African anti-colonialism target first: politics or economy? Nkrumah responded in his capacity as the elder statesman in African nationalism, asserting: “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you.”
During the negotiations to abolish Apartheid, was Mandela aware of Nkrumah’s political kingdom dictum? He would be forgiven if he was not aware. After all, he was already in prison when African nationalism became popular.
In addition to his well-known photographic memory, Mandela was well read. Prof Ali Mazrui told how he was once in a conference and, accidentally, bumped into Mandela in the hallway. Startled, Mazrui greeted the global icon and introduced himself as Ali Mazrui. Mandela responded: “Oh, Professor Ali Mazrui, nice to meet you! I used to read your publications when I was in prison!”
If Mandela remembered Mazrui’s name and he had read his publications while in prison, he certainly knew of the economic-political kingdoms debate prior to African decolonisation.
Indeed Nkrumah’s dictum on this issue is one of his three most cited statements and Mazrui has published extensively on Nkrumah. In de-emphasising the economic front in the negotiations to abolish apartheid, was Mandela acting under the spell of Nkrumah?
In all likelihood, Mandela was preoccupied less with ideologies than the practical circumstances that surrounded him. For the survival of his country, he had chosen to enlist the political kingdom first of reconciliation and nation-building.
This attempt to build a Rainbow Nation was indeed the only viable alternative that was open to discussions. In this sense, Mandela was not alone. He was in the mould of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, who also came out of a colonial jail and wrote a book clearly aimed at ‘coddling’ his former British detractors. Hence, the unsurprising title of his 1968 book: Suffering without bitterness.
The mood of doom that hung over South Africa deteriorated immensely from the 1980s and was profoundly unattractive to foreign investor. International economic sanctions had become universal and were now biting deeply. Suddenly, these forces were boosted by the 1986 passage of the US Congressional Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. The movement was also gaining momentum in the US and contributed further to Apartheid’s economic woes.
Mandela did play his historical part in terminating political apartheid and bringing democracy to the South Africa peacefully. For that he won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. But the task of fusing socio-economic equality into the political kingdom turned out to be arduous undertaking.
This year marks two decades of democracy in South Africa. Yet, the de facto economic apartheid remains intact. South African blacks remain pathetically poor. In 2009, South Africa surpassed Brazil as the most skewed society in the world.
In Mbeki’s opinion, South Africa is yet to be a nation; it remains two nations in one. How to narrow the gap between the white and black, and how to construct genuine fundamentals of a Rainbow Nation eluded Mandela. Unlike Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Mandela’s South Africa is an incomplete revolution, a work in progress.
Segun, 300-Level, Public Administration, LASU